A/N: Happy TVD Thursday! With the last chapter being so long, this one ended up being pretty short - only 4,000 words. It's pretty much just like a transition chapter for the next chapter coming which I promise will be longer. I put this chapter in Damon's POV for a change, which was actually kind of difficult. We'll be having more of his POV in later chapters, so I thought I'd just introduce his side of things.
Enjoy!
Numbers pass through my head, not making any importance until I come up with the ending product. Damn this is boring. Why can't I hire someone else to do this?
My thoughts drift to Elena. To what she's doing right now, to her smile, her laugh. She told me she was going to Tyler's today with the rest of her band. Jeremy and I are going out tonight, to where I don't know, but I do know that Elena won't be coming with us.
I shake my head, trying to rid all thoughts of her. I always get too distracted once I start thinking of her. I turn back to my task, typing more numbers into the calculator.
"You are so whipped," I hear someone say and look up in time to see Alaric walking into my office. He closes the door behind him and sits in the chair in front of my desk.
"Please Ric, come on in."
He rolls his eyes. "Don't try to change the topic. I know you were just thinking about Elena."
"And how do you know that?"
"You get this certain look on your face that I've never seen before. Makes me wonder if it's the one you wear when you're in the sack."
I scoff and roll my eyes. "What can I do for you, Ric?"
"Nothing, just dropped by to see what you were up to."
I sigh. "Well, can you see what I'm doing later? I'm kinda busy here."
"Doesn't look that way to me. Looks to me you were just thinking about Elena with all the time left in the world."
"I got distracted for a split second. No big deal."
He thinks for a moment, just looking at me. "I'm sure Elena would love to hear that."
I smile and roll my eyes. "I'm sure she would."
"So you admit it. You are whipped."
God damn it. "Yes, I'm whipped, now get out."
"Nope, believe it or not I actually did come here for a reason. My dad is selling one of his companies. I thought you might want to buy it. Put in a few extra dollars in your pocket."
We talk about business for the next hour. Alaric and I have been business partners since a year after I started the company. I'm glad we're as close as we are because if we weren't I wouldn't have gone to that fundraiser and I wouldn't have met Elena.
A quick tap on the door brings us out of our reverie. "Come in," I mutter.
The door opens and in the doorway is a beautiful brunette, looking at me with excited brown eyes and a bag in her hand. She walks in, closing the door behind her. My face is already in a huge smile, and I feel a twinge of guilt for muttering at her. "Hey guys, I brought lunch."
"Sweet! I'm starving," Ric says.
Elena sighs. "You should be more of a day drinker. You're always so hungry when you're not drunk."
He wags his finger at her. "Being drunk and working is never a good combination. What did you bring me?"
"I didn't bring you anything. I brought Damon a sub from Subway just the way he likes it with a big cookie and a kiss," she says as she looks over at me while speaking.
"Sucker," I mutter to Ric and stand up to walk over to her. I kiss her cheek. "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to surprise you. If I knew Ric would be here I would have brought more."
"He can go eat the shit in the break room." I smirk at Ric and he rolls his eyes before standing up. "Okay, I'm out. Stefan and I are going out with you and Jeremy tonight."
"Great, see you then," I say, not looking at him and just looking at Elena.
Ric leaves and Elena looks up at me. "Where are you guys going?"
I shrug. "I'm not sure yet. Jeremy won't tell me."
We both sit down and she takes everything out of the bag. She sets the sandwich and cookie in front of me and puts another sandwich in front of her. "What was he doing in here?"
"Just talking business. Nothing worth sharing."
We eat in silence for a few minutes. Suddenly, Elena's eyes brighten and she looks to me. "Did you see the newspaper today?"
I shake my head. "No, why?"
She gets her excited face on and gets up. She runs out the door before I can say anything. What the hell? Where is she going?
I'm about to go after her, wondering what she's up to when she comes barreling back through the door with a newspaper in her hand. "Read that!"
I look at where she's pointing and see a picture of her and the rest of her band on stage from the concert on Saturday. I read the bottom paragraph, like she asked.
'We were blown away at the fundraiser concert last Saturday. Band mates Elena Gilbert, Jeremy Sommers, Matt Donovan and Tyler Lockwood played for the first time ever some original music. The crowd seemed to love it, and so did we. We can see a future for this band coming quickly. Where will we hear about them next?'
Elena's still looking up at me, waiting for my reaction. "This is great!"
"I know! Did you see the part where they said we have a future? Other people think we have a chance in the real world! We won't be this small garage band that plays at every freaking fundraiser this town has to offer. We can be superstars! And we'll have fans and we just need to write more music and play them and go to a record company or something I'm not really sure what, maybe some kind of agent, but they loved us! They really loved us and the songs and-"
I stop her midsentence just to shut her up with my lips. I knew that if I didn't shut her up sooner or later, she would keep going on and on about this and then start doubting herself and over thinking it. I feel her smile under my lips and press her body to mine. When I pull away, I press my forehead to hers. "I'm so proud of you."
She smiles, my favorite smile in the world and grips my arms as if to keep upright. I lean away and look at her face, and she's still smiling like a buffoon. "Pretty soon, you're going to be known as the guy dating Elena Gilbert."
"I'm already known as that."
"But to everyone. To the real world and not just this bubble we have here in the city."
I smile. "That doesn't matter. What matters is you'll have everyone dying for your attention, and your dream will come true."
She smiles wider and leans up to kiss me again.
Someone knocks on the door of my apartment just as I'm getting dressed. It's probably Stefan or Ric or maybe even Elena. A small part of me hopes its Elena.
I'm still buttoning up my shirt as I open the door to reveal Stefan. "Oh come on, cover up," he mutters in disgust and invites himself in.
"Please, come in," I mutter sarcastically.
"Just be happy I knocked. Are you almost ready?"
"Do I look ready?"
He rolls his eyes. "Well, just hurry up. We have to pick up Caroline in ten minutes."
I stop in my tracks and turn back towards Stefan, wide eyed. Elena had told me today that she and Caroline were going out somewhere. "I thought Elena and Caroline were hanging out tonight."
"They are, but Elena's not ready yet so she's going to come with us for a little bit and then Elena's going to pick her up."
Caroline's going to have to be waiting for a long time then. She's always taking such a long time to get ready. I turn back around and head for my bedroom. I grab my phone and text Elena quick, asking her what she's doing. I button up the rest of my shirt and roll up the sleeves to my elbows. I grab my keys just as my phone vibrates on the bedside table.
Just got out of the shower, getting ready for tonight. Thinking about you ;)
I smile and text her back, letting her know I'm thinking about her too and make a witty remark about her being in the shower without me.
We get to Caroline's apartment building and Stefan sends her a text, letting her know we're outside. "Really, Stefan? A text? What the hell is wrong with you?"
He narrows his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
"Why aren't you doing up to get her? Are you scared?"
"No, we're just going to be going up and down four flights of stairs for no reason."
"So use the elevator."
"The elevator is broken and I don't feel like breaking a sweat by going up and down eight flights of stairs."
I stare at him for a second before looking away out the window and muttering "weakling."
Caroline runs out of the front door of the building and comes towards us. She stops outside my door and opens it. "I call shotgun."
All I do is laugh and she narrows her eyes at me. "Get in the back," I tell her, trying to stop laughing.
"Damon, I always get shotgun when Stefan drives."
I stop laughing and roll my eyes. "Yeah, so do I. Bros before hoes remember? Back seat."
Caroline looks to Stefan for help and so do I. He has a face on, not knowing whose side to pick. "Damon, just get in the back seat."
I open my mouth in protest but then close it. "Fine. I didn't want to sit up here anyway." I turn to Stefan. "You smell like cheese." I then get out of the car and get in the back.
"No, I don't."
He didn't, but I only said it to make him mad. Caroline gets in the front seat with a little smirk on her face and looks at me through the side mirror. I narrow my eyes at her and then turn away.
We arrive at the bar and get inside. We find Jeremy and Ric already drinking beers at a table. Ric has some brunette hanging on his every last word and Jeremy looks bored, staring at his phone. We get to the table and they both look at us. "Finally, you guys are here. Hey, I thought I made it clear when I said no girlfriends allowed."
Stefan rolls his eyes. "She'll only be here for a few minutes. An hour at the most. She's waiting for Elena who is still getting ready."
"Hello, that 'she' is standing right here!" Caroline complains and I roll my eyes.
"Oh yeah, Elena does take a while to get ready sometimes. You might be waiting for a while, Caroline," Jeremy says with a smirk.
Caroline gives him a look. "She'll be here in like a half hour."
Jeremy chuckles. "I wouldn't hold your breath on that, but okay. What are you guys doing tonight anyways?"
"Elena and I are going out to another bar since we weren't invited. I think it's one of those karaoke things. Maybe a movie, I don't know."
I sighed, realizing I was going to miss out on a chance to see Elena sing. Caroline goes over to say hello to Ric and mystery brunette girl. Jeremy pats us on the back. "Alright, ready for a girlfriend free night of getting sloppy drunk?"
"Hell yeah," I say and make my way to the bar. I order a beer for the three of us, knowing Ric already has a drink. When I get back to the table, we all say cheers and down the beers.
I'm not sure how much time has passed when I see a brunette head poke in through the door of the bar, looking beautiful as ever with her hair in waves. She's wearing very short jean shorts that made her legs look a million miles long, and a tight black t-shirt. I feel my pants tighten slightly as I keep watching her.
She walks in, obviously not seeing us. She looks to the bar, her face brightening. I look over to the bar, confused at what she saw that made her so happy, when I see her walk over into a man's arms.
My breath escapes from my chest. They share a tight hug before leaning away from each other, not breaking their contact. Elena is smiling widely, talking quickly, and looking nervous. She obviously knows this guy and hasn't seen this him in a while.
Something in my stomach makes me feel unsettled. I shouldn't feel jealous. But I am. And maybe the reason is because she has the same look on her face when she looks at me. Except she's less nervous around me.
I watch them for a few more minutes before I decide enough is enough and I go see what's going on. I make my way over. They had broken their contact and now are just leaning casually against the bar. I go and put my arms around her waist, pressing my lips to her cheek. I hear her giggle. "Hello," she says.
"Hi," I say, a wicked grin on my face.
I can tell this guy who had his hands all over my girl is feeling uncomfortable. "Dylan, this is my boyfriend Damon. Damon, this is my… friend Dylan."
Something about that name sounds familiar, but I can't place it. I keep one arm around Elena, staking my claim as I turn to him. He has dark brown hair pointing in all different directions and brown eyes. He puts a slight smile on his face and holds his hand out. "Nice to meet you, Damon."
Okay, time to play this game. "Nice to meet you too."
"Dylan and I used to date," Elena tells me and then it hits me. He was her last boyfriend. He was the one who cheated on her.
I raise my eyebrows as I tighten my arm around her. "Is that so?"
Elena nods nervously and turns her attention back on Dylan. God, I could just punch him right in the face right now. For something that wasn't even my business, just because he hurt Elena. "So, what are you doing here?"
"I just got here a few hours ago and needed a drink. I was about to text you to see if you wanted to meet up somewhere to hangout." Dylan looks to me and my eyes narrow. He obviously wants to say more, but decides not to. Smart choice.
They start talking about something. Maybe about his last trip to somewhere, I'm not really sure and don't give a damn. I just size him up. I could take him. He's not that big. If I just punched him in the face right now, he'd probably stumble backwards and fall to the ground. Then Stefan or somebody would come and try to break it up. Maybe Jeremy would help me because from what I hear, Jeremy, Matt and Tyler already did a number on him when he cheated on her before. Dylan would most likely try to retaliate and then punch me back and then I would punch him in the stomach. Then maybe someone would pull me off of him and Elena would look at me like I'm her knight in shining armor and then-
"Damon!"
I'm broken out of my reverie by Elena. She's looking up at me, waiting for an answer to something. "What did you say?"
"I asked you what you guys were going to do tonight."
I shrug. "Probably just stay here. Caroline already told me your plans."
"Finally! You're he-oh." Caroline comes up to us and stops midsentence after seeing Dylan. "Hello, Dylan," she says tight lipped."
"Nice to see you too, Caroline," Dylan replies rhetorically and she just rolls her eyes.
"Elena, are you ready to go?"
Elena nods and looks to Dylan. What the hell? "I'll see you later. Text me so we can hangout sometime."
Yeah, Elena and I are going to have to talk about that. She's definitely not going to see him.
Dylan nods and is all fucking smiles before he pulls her in for a hug. I keep my arm in place, not even considering letting go of her. I look to Caroline and she's looking at me, the same feeling I'm feeling written all over her face. We both roll our eyes as Elena and Dylan pull away from each other. "It was good to see you, Elena."
Elena nods. "Yeah, you too. I'll see you later, okay?"
Dylan nods. "Okay."
Elena gives him one last smile before I almost drag her out of there. I drag her, following Caroline somewhere far from Dylan. "Damon, stop pulling me," she says and I immediately take my hands off her. But only because Caroline had stopped walking.
"Elena, want to let me in on what the hell you're doing?" Caroline asks her, a determined look on her face.
Elena shrugs and looks around. "I'm just standing here, talking to you guys. What the hell does it look like I'm doing?"
"I mean what the hell are you doing with Dylan?"
She heavy sighs. "Nothing! I just haven't seen him in a while."
"Did you forget what he did to you?"
"Well no but we're friends now. I forgot to tell you that part."
Casey takes a deep breath and looks at me. "Okay, we're going to talk about this later. Bye, Damon."
I look at Elena, unsure of what her true intentions tonight was. She gives me a smile and I immediately melt inside. My anger flees for a moment and I smile back at her and give her a kiss. "Be careful. Don't have too much fun or do things I wouldn't do."
She rolls her eyes. "Damon, that list is a very small list. I'll see you later."
I watch her walk out of the bar with Caroline before walking back to our table. It looks like none of them saw what just happened. Jeremy looks to me. "Where'd you go? I ordered you a shot."
"Do you remember Elena's ex boyfriend Dylan?" I ask him, wanting to know the whole situation. It appears Elena left some things out before.
He nods. "Yeah, why?"
I turn around and point to him at the bar. "Because he's over there, and before was chatting up with Elena."
I turn back to him. His eyes are narrowed as he looks at him. "Scumbag. I can't believe he has the guts to show his face in here anymore."
"So, what really happened?"
He looks to me. "Elena didn't tell you?"
I shrug. "She told me he cheated on her because she wasn't good enough for him or something like that."
Jeremy nods. "Oh yeah. That whole thing happened, then Matt, Tyler and I got to beat him up. That was fun. Looks like he's recovered though. Maybe I could just go over there and remind him again not to-"
"Okay, we'll talk about that later. Just tell me what happened after they broke up."
Jeremy thinks for a moment as I brace myself for what he's about to say. Alaric makes his way over and sits down. "What are you guys talking about?"
"Dylan's back in town."
Alaric looks around the bar and spots him. "That fucker. You guys should've gone harder on him last time."
"On who?" Stefan asks as he comes over. I roll my eyes. Just give me the god damn story.
"On Dylan."
After I tell them the whole situation, ten minutes have gone by and I'm still waiting for story. They're talking about things they caught Dylan and Elena doing once upon a time. Things I had no interest in hearing. "So what happened after the broke up?" I ask again, hoping to actually get an answer and not have to wait another ten minutes.
"Oh yeah! So they broke up and Elena started sleeping at my house because she was too upset to be alone and Caroline was still with that Klaus guy. A couple months past and they met again and started hanging out but as friends," Jeremy explains as Ric and Stefan both nod their heads in agreement.
"How do you guys know that and Caroline doesn't?"
Ric shrugs. "Because Caroline is a psycho and if she heard she was hanging out with Dylan again she would've gone ape shit."
"And you guys didn't?"
"Well, I was just happy she trusted us to even tell us that. We told her a countless number of times to stop hanging out with him, even told him to stop hanging out with her but they just went behind our backs. She only told us when she was all upset that he left town."
I sigh and lean back in my seat. Looks like I've got some new fucking competition. At least I'm not going to cheat on her. Now it looks like I've just got to do everything in my power to keep them apart.
A/N: Remember to review, follow, favorite and follow me on twitter! Smolderrholders
Enjoy tonight's episode and I'll see you next week!
Xoxo Em
